Jordan Salama on Rescuing his Family's “Historia Antigua”

One Thanksgiving, when Jordan Salama was home from school, he noticed a thick binder in his grandfather's basement labeled “Historia Antigua”, which means ancient history in Spanish. Stuffed with photographs and documents, Jordan found that his grandfather had recorded hundreds of years of their family's history, covering movements and migrations between the Ottoman Empire and Argentina. This discovery sent Jordan on a quest to Argentina to discover the story of his great-grandfather, who had been a traveling salesman in the Andes in the early 20th century. The resulting book, Stranger in the Desert, was a finalist for the 2026 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. In this episode, we discuss Jordan’s process of ‘climbing out of a linguistic hole’ by learning his family’s languages, the interconnected identities of Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ottoman Empire in Argentina, and how he teaches others to use the tools of journalism to discover their own family histories. Jordan Salama is an author and a contributing writer at The New Yorker. He has written about migration, culture, and the environment in the Americas. His first book, Every Day the River Changes, about a journey down Colombia’s Río Magdalena, and the people who live along its banks, was named one of the best books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews, and a top new travel book by the New York Times. Jordan Salama’s Five Books: 1. Even This I Get To Experience by Norman Lear 2. In an Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh 3. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 4. Larga Distancia by Tali Goldman (Spanish Language) 5. Stranger in the Desert by Jordan Salama Other Episodes You Might Enjoy: Elizabeth Graver on Lost Worlds and New Doorways Samantha Ellis on Becoming a Keeper of Her Ancestral Language Rachel Cockerell on The Zionist Dream that Sailed to Galveston Also Mentioned: Out of Egypt by Andre Aciman Tarantula by Eduardo Halfon Verklempt Magazine Jordan Salama’s articles in the New Yorker We’re thrilled to share that The Five Books has been named a finalist for a Signal Award in the category of Religion and Spirituality for our episode with Zeeva Bukai. This recognition is a testament to our incredible team’s hard work and to our listeners’ support. We’d be so grateful if you would take a moment to vote for us! Thank you! Vote now The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Rabbi Sharon Brous, Sam Sussman, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Allegra Goodman. ⁠⁠⁠Sign up for our newsletter⁠⁠⁠ to get new episode reminders, authors’ five book picks, and more delivered straight to your inbox. Find us on at ⁠www.fivebookspod.org, on Instagram ⁠@fivebookspod ⁠or on Facebook at The Five Books Podcast. For feedback or author recommendations please email us at ⁠team@fivebookspod.org⁠ The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! ⁠https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate⁠ The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity. As an Amazon Associate, The Five Books earns from qualifying purchases. Any commissions we receive help support our nonprofit mission and are reinvested in producing the podcast and related programming. Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen Produced by Odelia Rubin Editorial and website support by Aimee Fogel Artwork by Elad Lifshitz of the Dov Abramson Studio Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions